PASSAGE of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026, again remained inconclusive on Tuesday as the Senate stalled on a decision after spending over four hours considering the report of a seven-member ad hoc committee behind closed doors. News Point Nigeria reports that the upper chamber had commenced deliberations on the consolidated report of the committee, which was constituted last week to collate and harmonise lawmakers’ contributions on the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2026, before dissolving into a closed-door session to review the documents. However, upon reconvening, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, declined to comment…
Author: Hamza Rufai
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THE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Professor Abdullahi Saleh Pakistan, has spent over N44.93 billion without President Bola Tinubu’s approval during the 2025 Hajj operation, investigations have shown. This investigation series is the outcome of weeks-long thorough analysis and review of official financial documents obtained from the Hajj commission that include the 2025 Proposal Hajj Budget, 2025 Approved Hajj Budget, 2025 Hajj Budget Performance, 2025 Hajj Weighing and Flight Manifest, Visa Numbers and Cost of 2023- 2025 Hajj, 2025 Makkah Accommodation Report, 2025 Masha’ir Report, Vouchers, Vote Books, Cashbooks, Financial Statements, among others.…
FORMER Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that he earned hundreds of millions of naira from salaries, allowances and traditional gifts, as he moved to stop the interim forfeiture of several properties seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). News Point Nigeria reports that Malami made the disclosure in a fresh legal challenge against the anti-graft agency, which had earlier secured a court order for the interim forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly linked to him and two of his sons. On January 6, Justice Emeka Nwite of the…
A SHARP public confrontation has erupted between Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) and the House of Representatives following allegations of discrepancies in recently passed tax legislation, raising fresh questions about legislative transparency and procedure. News Point Nigeria reports that the disagreement, which escalated into a heated exchange on Sunday, pitted Ndume against the Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, who accused the senator of being “mischievous” for suggesting that the version of the tax laws signed by President Bola Tinubu differed from the version passed by the National Assembly. Ndume, however, fired back strongly, describing Agbese’s…
THE Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has urged all Nigerians both individuals and employers to comply with the law by filing their annual tax returns on or before March 31, warning that widespread non-compliance remains a major challenge to Nigeria’s fiscal system. News Point Nigeria reports that Oyedele made the call during a webinar organised for human resource managers, payroll officers, chief financial officers and tax managers, in collaboration with the Joint Revenue Board. The session, which was later shared on YouTube on Friday, focused on improving tax compliance and clarifying obligations…
A FEDERAL High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has nullified the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Convention held in the city on November 15, 2025, dealing a major legal blow to one of the rival factions battling for control of the opposition party. News Point Nigeria reports that in a ruling delivered on Friday, Justice Uche Agomoh barred all officials elected at the Ibadan convention, including former Minister of Special Duties and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, from parading themselves as leaders of the PDP. Turaki had emerged as National Chairman of the party at the…
THE Senate has constituted a seven-member ad hoc committee to harmonise and distil senators’ inputs on the proposed amendment of the Electoral Act, as lawmakers intensify efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral framework ahead of the 2027 general elections. News Point Nigeria reports that the decision followed a three-hour closed-door executive session held on Thursday, during which senators further scrutinised the Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill currently before the National Assembly. Announcing the outcome of the session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the committee was set up to synthesise lawmakers’ views and address outstanding concerns on the proposed amendments. He…
THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has denied allegations that its leadership deliberately withheld staff promotions, salary arrears and welfare funds, insisting that the Commandant General, Abubakar Audi, has no direct control over such payments. News Point Nigeria reports that the clarification follows complaints by some personnel of the Corps who accused the leadership of failing to pay promotion arrears between 2022 and 2024, despite repeated assurances that the funds had been released. Some affected officers claimed that arrears attached to their promotions had remained unpaid for years, fuelling frustration and speculation within the service. However, in a…
FORMER Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Bolaji Abdullahi, has disclosed the circumstances surrounding his removal from the cabinet of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, saying his refusal to publicly attack former Senate President Bukola Saraki cost him his job. News Point Nigeria reports that Abdullahi, who served as a Federal Executive Council member representing Kwara State during the Jonathan administration, was relieved of his appointment in March 2014 amid a political realignment that saw Saraki defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the then newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC). Speaking 12 years after the incident, Abdullahi,…
THE Senate has announced plans to convene an executive session to brief lawmakers on the United States air strikes carried out on terrorist targets in Sokoto State on December 25, following concerns over the alleged exclusion of the National Assembly from prior consultations. News Point Nigeria reports that the decision followed a point of order raised during plenary on Tuesday by Senator Abdul Ningi, an opposition lawmaker representing Bauchi Central, who argued that the operation raised serious constitutional and sovereignty issues. Raising the matter under Order 42 (Matters of Privilege), Ningi contended that the air strikes constituted an infringement on…
THE Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed claims that notorious bandit leader Bello Turji is a registered member of the party, describing a viral APC membership card bearing his name and photograph as a crude forgery designed to damage the party’s image. The party said it uncovered a fake APC membership card allegedly issued to Turji during its ongoing electronic registration exercise, insisting that the document was fabricated by mischievous elements opposed to the success of the exercise in the state. The disclosure was made on Tuesday in a statement issued by the Zamfara APC…
THE National Assembly has introduced a proposal in the ongoing amendment of Electoral law that would give prison inmates in Nigeria the right to vote in elections. News Point Nigeria reports that the Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, gave the hint ahead of resumption of the National Assembly from Christmas break, adding that the proposed law would mandate release of fund for general elections at least one year before the day of the elections. Bamidele further revealed that Electoral Bill, 2025 introduces no fewer than 20 defining highlights that would eventually differentiate it from the previous electoral regimes.…
THE Nigerian military has firmly denied allegations of a slow or ineffective response to the mass abduction of worshippers in Kurmin Wali community, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, insisting that sustained and carefully coordinated rescue operations are ongoing to secure the release of the victims. News Point Nigeria reports that more than 100 worshippers were reportedly abducted by armed criminals last Sunday during an attack on the community, triggering outrage, fear, and growing frustration among residents and displaced families. Some community members accused security forces of responding sluggishly to the incident and alleged that troops retreated after making…
THE House of Representatives Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws on Friday said it had confirmed that illegal alterations were made to some tax reform laws passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President, raising concerns about legislative integrity and constitutional breaches. The committee made the disclosure in its interim report on allegations of discrepancies between the laws passed by parliament and versions later published in the official gazette. The controversy began after a member of the House, Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised the alarm during plenary over the circulation of an “authorised” tax law version that differed…
THE trial over the alleged defamation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, commenced on Wednesday with the Department of State Services (DSS) opening its case and calling its first witness. News Point Nigeria reports that testifying before the Federal High Court, a DSS operative, Cyril Nosike, told the court that a social media post made by Sowore describing President Tinubu as a “criminal” generated public tension and posed a threat to national security. Led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), Nosike said that on August 26, 2025, while…
THE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has declared that political appointments after the 2027 general elections will be reserved strictly for party loyalists, insisting that governance is inseparable from politics and that technocrats who are unwilling to engage in party mobilisation should not expect appointments. News Point Nigeria reports that Nentawe made the declaration on Tuesday night in Abuja at an event titled “Renewed Hope Promise Kept 2027: Meet and Greet North-West Mobilisation,” organised by the Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo. A video clip of the APC chairman’s remarks went viral on…
THE 16th Emir of Kano, Khalifa Muhammad Sanusi II, on Tuesday, officially commenced lectures at Northwest University, Kano, as a 200 Level Law student. News Point Nigeria reports that Sanusi II joined his classmates for early morning lectures, dressed in a black long gown with a white head tie. He sat comfortably at the back of the class in a three-seater during the session. The Emir’s first lecture came after he completed all registration procedures in line with the university’s requirements. The institution had extended the offer of admission to Sanusi II last week, recognizing his extensive experience in governance,…
AFTER passing a vote of no confidence in the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Pakistan, all the NAHCON eleven permanent and non-commissioners, have formally written to President Bola Tinubu, demanding the sack of Pakistan, saying allowing him to say in office for one more day would lead to the collapse of 2026 Hajj operation. News Point Nigeria reports that the eleven commissioners disclosed this in a letter dated 19 January 2026, signed by all the commissioners, and addressed to President Tinubu. In the letter obtained by this newspaper, the commissioners unanimously said,…
VICE President Kashim Shettima is leading Nigeria’s delegation to the 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. News Point Nigeria reports that the summit will be held from January 19 to 23, 2026. His arrival in Switzerland, to attend the forum, which brings together global political and business leaders, followed his visit to Conakry, Guinea, on Friday, where he represented President Bola Tinubu at the inauguration of President Mamadi Doumbouya. According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, the VP, on arrival in Switzerland, was received by the Minister of Foreign…
THE House of Representatives is considering a constitutional amendment bill seeking to prohibit the public parade of suspects by the police and other law enforcement agencies. News Point Nigeria reports that this follows the widespread condemnation the practice has witnessed from human rights groups, the judiciary and civil society organisations in the country for decades. The proposal, which forms part of the recommendations adopted by the House Committee on Constitution Review chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, is expected to be debated when the National Assembly resumes from the Christmas and New Year recess. At the centre of the…